by Dante
26. The reader has once before encountered the first word of the Latin phrase coram me (in front of me): See Paradiso XI.63: coram patre, when, “in the presence of his father,” Francis “married” Lady Poverty. [return to English / Italian]
28–33. Tozer (comm. to vv. 29–30) says that the passages in St. James’s Epistle that are referred to are 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him”; 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights”; other commentators add 2:5, “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?” Tozer continues, “It is to be remarked that Dante has here and in vv. 76–77, by a strange error, attributed this epistle, which was written by St. James the Less, to St. James the Greater; the same mistake is found in Brunetto Latini (Tesoro, Bk. II, Ch. 8).” For the favor of Jesus, Grandgent (comm. to vv. 32–33) offers the following: “Three of the disciples (Peter, James, John) were chosen by Jesus to be present, and to receive the clearest revelation of his character, on three different occasions: at the Transfiguration (Matth. 17:1–8), in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matth. 26:36–38), and at the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:50–56). On these three occasions Peter, James, and John stand respectively for Faith, Hope, and Love.” [return to English / Italian]
30. The Greek word “basilica” is defined by Jacopo della Lana (comm. to vv. 29–30) as Domus regia (royal palace). Benvenuto (comm. to vv. 28–30) says that Beatrice is referring to the Church Triumphant (in the Empyrean, if it is now present here). [return to English / Italian]
32. For James as the “figure” of Hope in the technical sense (i.e., he is said to “figure” it), see Hollander (Holl.1969.1), pp. 64–66. For his more general association with hope, see Tartaro (Tart.1989.1), p. 680, referring to the earlier arguments of Conrieri (Conr.1971.1) and Battaglia Ricci (Batt.1972.1). [return to English / Italian]
37. James, lending his presence to that of Peter, is the one who speaks. [return to English / Italian]
38–39. The plain meaning of this circumlocution is that, at the invitation of James, Dante looked up at both apostles, since he had at first lowered his gaze in respect. See Psalm 120:1: “Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi” (I have lifted up my eyes to the hills, whence shall come my help). [return to English / Italian]
40–45. One might paraphrase the apostle’s words as follows: “Since the Emperor, in his grace, wants you to see his counts in his most secret hall while you still live so that, experiencing the truth of this court, you may make yourself stronger in Hope—and others, too.” For the language of worldly titles, used of the members of the “court” of Heaven, see the note to Paradiso XXIV.115. [return to English / Italian]
46–48. James asks the protagonist three questions: (1) “What is Hope?” (2) “How does your mind blossom with it?” (3) “From where did it make its way to you?” [return to English / Italian]
49–51. In the poet’s barely suppressed reference to Daedalus, Beatrice is portrayed as having done well in guiding Dante’s pens/wings to such lofty flight. She now intervenes for him, answering James’s second question—perhaps because it would have been awkward for Dante to have responded, since his answer might have seemed self-praising. [return to English / Italian]
52–57. Mazzotta (Mazz.1988.2), p. 98, sees this passage as confirming the pattern of Exodus as a model for the poem, as has already been made explicit in Purgatorio II.46. It also contains two (of only three) uses of the verb militare in the poem. We are dealing here with an armed exodus, a Christian militancy. Beatrice presents Dante’s claims to the theological virtue of Hope. Inscribed in Christ, he has been chosen to come from “Egypt” to “Jerusalem” and to this vision before he finishes his militancy (Daniello [comm. to vv. 55–57] was apparently the first commentator to cite Job 7:1 in this connection: “Militia est vita hominis super terram” [Man’s life on this earth is a warfare]; it has since become fairly commonplace to do so). [return to English / Italian]
58–63. Beatrice continues: As for the first and third questions, which you put to him not to know the answer but so that he may please you in his responses (cf. Par. XXIV, 40–45), and which will not be difficult for him, let him reply. [return to English / Italian]
67–69. See Singleton (comm. on this tercet): “The definition of hope given by Dante here is that of Peter Lombard in Sentences III.xxvi.1: ‘Est enim spes certa expectatio futurae beatitudinis, veniens ex Dei gratia et meritis praecedentibus’ (Now hope is a certain expectation of future beatitude proceeding from God’s grace and antecedent merits). He adds: ‘Sine meritis aliquid sperare non spes sed praesumptio dici potest’ (Without merits, to hope for something is not hope but presumption).” [return to English / Italian]
70–78. See Psalm 9:11 (9:10 in our Bible): “And those who know your name shall put their trust in you [sperent in te]).” The protagonist credits David with being the first who had instilled hope in his heart, and then James (James 1:12) instilled it there, too, so that Dante is filled with it and “rerains” both of these “rains” on others. [return to English / Italian]
73–78. William Stephany (Step.1995.1), pp. 377–78, invites a closer examination of these two tercets, which reveal, first, hidden in the words describing David’s tëodia, Augustine’s association of the name of God and hope; second, in the very words of the Epistle of James (see the note to Inf. XXVI.32 for the presence of James 3:4–6 behind that tercet), the imperative to be a maker of words producing a love for God, an imperative fulfilled by Dante’s tëodia as well. [return to English / Italian]
73. See David (Davi.1993.1), pp. 441–44, on tëodia as a “chant provenant de Dieu” (song deriving from God) and as being, sub rosa, a generic denominator of the poem. But see Barolini’s earlier (and fuller) exposition of this theme (Baro.1984.1), pp. 276–77. [return to English / Italian]
79–81. James responds to Dante’s formulation with an accepting lightning flash. [return to English / Italian]
82–87. See Tozer (comm. to vv. 83–84) for a paraphrase and explanation: “St. James is still kindled with love for the virtue of Hope, though the Blessed can no longer feel hope themselves, because they have fruition; la palma: the palm of martyrdom, l’uscir del campo: his quitting the field of battle was his death. St. James was put to death by Herod Agrippa the Elder, Acts 12:1–2.” [return to English / Italian]
89–96. Tozer (comm. to vv. 91–93): “Isaiah 61:7: ‘Therefore in their land they shall possess the double; everlasting joy shall be unto them.’ Dante interprets ‘the double’ as meaning the blessedness of soul and body; cf. doppia vesta here with due stole in 1. 127.” And see John (in Apocalypse 3:5; 7:9–17), speaking more directly of the general resurrection.
Stephany (Step.1995.1), p. 381, suggests that, although not cited directly in this canto, Isaiah 61 offers an indirect gloss on it. In Luke 4, Jesus reads from this chapter of Isaiah in the temple; when he sees that his words are offensive he insists that “no prophet is honored in his native land” (Luke 4:24), words that certainly must have seemed to the exiled poet to fit his own condition as well. [return to English / Italian]
89. Chiavacci Leonardi (Chia.1988.2), p. 266n., writes that segno here means, not termine a cui si tende or meta (“goal”), as is supposedly the “general understanding among exegetes” of this verse, but “sign,” citing Torraca (comm. to vv. 88–90) as her precursor. However, consultation of the full and sensible review of the problem by Scartazzini (comm. to vv. 88–90) would have revealed an earlier, better, and more convincing understanding of the line, taken in precisely this sense. [return to English / Italian]
91–93. For a meditation upon resurrection, so clearly referred to here, as being the central concern of the entire poem, see Chiavacci Leonardi (Chia.1988.2). [return to English / Italian]
93. For the two previous appearances of the phrase dolce vita, see the not
e to Paradiso IV.35. [return to English / Italian]
94–96. For the “shining robes,” see Apocalypse 3:5 and 7:9–17. And for the concept of the glorified body, see Gragnolati (Grag.2005.1), p. 198; also pp. 165–66, discussing St. James. [return to English / Italian]
97–99. Among the commentators, only Carroll (comm. to these verses) looks up from this Latin “translation” of the vernacular version of a line from Psalm 9, which we have heard in verse 73, to think of Psalm 30, also involving hope in the Lord. This is what he has to say: “It is probably meant to be the reversal of the incident in the Earthly Paradise.… There, when the Angels, pitying Dante’s distress, sang ‘In te, Domine, speravi,’ they were promptly silenced by Beatrice—he had then no title to hope. Now everything is changed. Beatrice herself proclaims him a child of hope.” [return to English / Italian]
98. The identity of the singer(s) of the words of the psalm is not given. The commentators are universally puzzled (if only Chimenz [comm. to vv. 97–99] has the good sense to complain that Dante had left the issue unresolved and problematic). It is thus perhaps necessary to assume that angels, whether in the ninth sphere or, as seems more likely, in the Empyrean, are their source. The only human souls above them now are Jesus and Mary. And while one cannot rule out the possibility that it is one of them that we hear (or even both of them), that does not seem likely, nor has anyone, perhaps, ever argued for that solution. And so an angelic voice or group of voices is probably an acceptable solution, but not one that there is consensus about. However, the inhabitants of the “spheres” (circles) of the Church Triumphant are probably ruled out, since they are now here in the eighth heaven and not up above. It is as though whoever, singular or plural, is doing that singing were answering Dante’s Italian version of the psalm in Latin, as though to underline his acceptance as a hopeful member of the Church. [return to English / Italian]
100–102. For the dazzling brightness of John’s transfigured body, Toynbee (Toyn. 1905.1) refers to the legendary accounts found, for instance, in Vincent of Beauvais (whom he cites), Petrus Comestor, and Jacopo da Varagine.
He is so bright that were the constellation Cancer (which shines all night from mid-December to mid-January) to have in it a single star as bright, it would turn one month into unbroken “day.” [return to English / Italian]
103–108. See Grandgent (comm. to vv. 103–111): “The three representatives of the Christian virtues dance before Beatrice, as the Virtues themselves did (in allegorical form) in Purg. XXIX.121–129.” [return to English / Italian]
109–111. John joins his fellow apostles (Peter and James) in song as Beatrice, as bride, looks on. [return to English / Italian]
112–114. The references are to the disciple who leaned on Jesus (John 13:23) and who was chosen by Christ on the cross to care for Mary (John 19:27). The pelican seemed a fitting image of Christ because the bird was supposed to feed its young by piercing its own breast with its beak to feed them with its blood. The bird is mentioned (if not with these characteristics) in Psalm 101:7 (102:6). For a fairly extensive note devoted to Christ as pelican, see Carroll (comm. to vv. 100–114). [return to English / Italian]
118–121. Dante’s blindness, as Carroll observes (comm. to these verses), is a form of punishment for his vain curiosity about the bodily condition of the apostle’s soul; he goes on to note that it is curious that Thomas (ST suppl., q. 77, a. 1, ad 2) supports the truth of the legend. [return to English / Italian]
122–129. John says that his body has returned to earth as clay, and will so remain until the general resurrection; only Christ and Mary are in Heaven in the flesh, as Dante is instructed to tell those “back home” whom he shall meet when he returns. [return to English / Italian]
124–126. Jacoff (Jaco.1999.1), p. 52, believes that Dante cancels the version of the tale that has John being in Heaven in his flesh in order to privilege Mary. [return to English / Italian]
127–129. John, who is the very model of the biblical scribe (see, e.g., Apocalypse 22:18–19) here has become the dictator, with Dante acting as his scribe. He specifically licenses Dante to write the words he has just written. [return to English / Italian]
130–135. Poletto (comm. to these verses), citing Casini, is the first commentator to find the original of this simile in Statius, mentioning Thebaid IV.804–807 and VI.799–801. But see Porena (comm. to these verses [actually his second “nota finale” to this canto in the printed version of his commentary]), who attacks such attributions as “scholarship” run amok. (Torraca [comm. to these verses] had previously suggested as much, if a bit more gently.) Bosco/Reggio (comm. to vv. 133–135) are in accord with Porena. However, it should be pointed out that Porena does not discuss the Statian simile that is closest to Dante’s text (that in the sixth book), but deals with that in Thebaid IV and another not adduced by Poletto (Theb. X.774–777). [return to English / Italian]
131–132. Our translation reflects Gaffney’s suggestion (Gaff.1973.1, p. 111) that the verb, si quietò, preserves the ambiguity between sound and movement. [return to English / Italian]
136–139. See Acts 9:7, when Saul’s companions, “hearing a voice but seeing no man,” try to see Jesus. We may want to remember that John, as visionary, was frequently portrayed as “blind” (see, e.g., Purg. XXIX. 143–144), a familiar iconographical representation of inner sight. [return to English / Italian]
PARADISO XXVI
* * *
1. As a continuation of its predecessor, this canto begins with Dante’s concerns about his blindness. The verb dubbiava underlines the combination of fear and uncertainty that he is experiencing, as Sapegno (comm. to vv. 1–2) points out (citing Francesco da Buti [comm. to vv. 1–12]); he reflects on some of the previous and varying meanings of the verb dubbiare (Inf. IV.18 and Purg. XX.135: being fearful; Purg. III.72: being dubious). [return to English / Italian]
3. For the noun spiro, see Paradiso XXIV.32, where it refers to Peter’s “breath” (and see the related verb [spirò] at XXIV.82; and XXV.82, with similar significance for James as well). Thus each apostle is identified with the word connected to the spiration of the Holy Spirit; it is probably not accidental that all three of them are associated with this spiration in Paradiso XXV.132. [return to English / Italian]
5–6. These lines bring back to mind a similar tactic on the part of Virgil (Inferno XI.10–15), where Dante’s olfactory sense must be rested from the infernal stench before the downward journey into the pit may be continued; therefore, Virgil, in order to pass the time profitably, offers his “lecture” on the order of the sins. Here, in response to Dante’s temporary blindness, John will use the time to give Dante his examination on Love, which begins with the next tercet. [return to English / Italian]
6. Aversano (Aver.2000.2), p. 121, points out that here the verb ragionare, so intimately connected with the phrase d’amore (and thus “to speak of love”) in Dante’s own and other amorous lyrics, here is put to the service of discussing a higher form of love, the third (and highest) of the three theological virtues (see Paul’s statement to that effect [that among faith, hope, and love, “the greatest of these is love”] in I Corinthians 13:13). (The verb is repeated in verse 21.)
At the same time, it is necessary to keep in mind, as Scartazzini (comm. to vv. 1–18) reminds us, citing Thomas (ST I–II, q. 65, a. 5), the necessary relations among Charity, Faith, and Hope. We may be tempted to conclude that, like the Persons of the Trinity, the presence of one of them implies the presence of the other two. [return to English / Italian]
9–12. The protagonist’s blindness, John assures him, is but temporary. For the reference, see Acts 9:10–18, where Ananias, a disciple of Christ, is sent to cure Saul of his blindness. Once he does so, Paul begins to preach Jesus Christ. This is thus the pivotal moment in the life of Saul/Paul. While Beatrice, bringing back Dante’s sight, is thus Ananias-like, there is much less at stake here, and the comparison may seem at least a bit overblown. [return to English / Italian]
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br /> 9. The past participle, smarrita, of the verb smarrire (to confuse, discourage, bewilder) is used to suggest Dante’s inner state in Inferno I.3, II.64, V.72, X.125, and XIII.24 (see the note to Inf. X.125). In most of those situations, the protagonist felt sympathy for the damned. Here, in the penultimate occurrence of the word to indicate his inner state, his loss of the faculty of vision is not the result of his sinfulness, but represents only a temporary failing (a result of his remaining tendency to see with carnal eyes?) in his increasing capacity to understand things divine. A final occurrence of the verb to indicate that condition awaits (Par. XXXIII.77); there it will refer to a rather different (and loftier) “confusion” on the protagonist’s part. [return to English / Italian]
13–15. Getto (Gett.1968.1), p. 933, has observed that this canto enters into an intimate relationship with the Vita nuova (see also Brownlee [Brow.1990.1], p. 390). And these verses, more pointedly than most in this cantica dedicated to Dante’s love for Beatrice, recall the physical basis of Dante’s first desires for her (and one also refers to the even clearer sexual reference of that Virgilian reminiscence found in a similar moment, Purg. XXX.46–48, equating Beatrice and Dido). The language here is unmistakably reminiscent of the language of sexual desire found in Dante’s lyrics (and in those of other poets). Reassembling arguments made in her three previous essays in this vein, Regina Psaki (Psak.2003.1) argues that Dante’s heavenly love for Beatrice conflates that early form of love in his present one. Opponents of this view are accused of “cultural nervousness about the notion that sexual love may be sacred” (p. 119). Nonetheless, it is difficult to believe that Dante wants his reader to think that the old flame still burns beneath angelic clothing; and it is still more difficult to believe that, at least within the confines of the Comedy, he would consider any form of extramarital sexual love “sacred.” [return to English / Italian]
